Grilling: Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

I like to challenge myself to cook almost any recipe on the grill. So when I finally got around to making Kenji's brussels sprouts with bacon I've been lusting after for a year now, I thought I'd see what I could do over the flames.

Admittedly, this isn't the best suited recipe for the grill because of a few challenges. First, the sprouts won't cook completely through in the little amount of time they take to brown on the grill, which I solved by boiling them in water for 5 minutes. Second, the bacon needs to be cooked in a skillet, which can be done on the grill, but it's not really "grilling."

Nevertheless the recipe turned out excellent. I added some shallots along with the bacon which added a nice sweetness that contrasted with the crispy, bitter sprouts. Of course, the bacon did wonders to make the brussels sprouts a vegetable almost anyone would want, proven by how fast they disappeared at dinner. Seconds weren't even an option.

About the author:Joshua Bousel brings you new, tasty condiment each Wednesday and a recipe for weekend grilling every Friday. He also writes about grilling and barbecue on his blog The Meatwave whenever he can be pulled away from his grill.

Ingredients

Procedures

1

Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of salt followed by burssels sprouts and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2

Add bacon into a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat and cook until fat render and bacon crisps. Remove bacon to a large bowl and remove all bacon fat expect 1 tablespoon. Add shallots into pan and cook until lightly browned. Remove to bowl with bacon.

3

Place brussels sprouts in a large bowl and toss with reserved bacon fat and salt and pepper to taste. Place on the grill and cook until lightly charred on each side, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

4

Remove brussels sprout from grill into bowl with bacon and shallots, toss to combine. Pour out onto a serving dish and serve immediately.

Print:

Filed Under:

About the Author

Sharing his love between three beautiful grills and two handsome smokers (oh, and lets not forget a wife and a couple cats), Josh has a passion for grilling and barbecue that seems to grow bigger everyday.

Starting with a bi-weekly backyard barbecue series called The Meatwave in 2004, this pastime quickly became an obsession that turned into a full fledged recipe blog a few years later. He then brought those grillmaster skills to Serious Eats in 2008, delivering the best in grilling recipes every week. Taking the plunge from backyard to pro, he started up a competition team in the spring of 2012 and quickly added the "award-winning" label to his barbecue.

At this point, Josh has slow smoked and eaten so much pork, he's legally recognized as being part swine.